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1948 
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Black & white photos copied from Pan's World.
Color photos courtesy of Larry Ledbetter & Greg Field (Harley Davidson Panheads-MBI Publishing Company)
Not all color photos! Some courtesy of Pilot.
background music by David Allan Coe
"Panheads Forever"
While many felt the Knucklehead's life was cut unduly short, the Panhead that replaced it for 1948 offered some valuable improvements. Most notable of these was a switch to hydraulic valve lifters, which automatically took up any slack in the valvetrain and did not need constant adjustment. As a result, Panheads produce less engine noise and required less maintenance. They also ran a little cooler, because the heads were now made of aluminum..
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1948 1949 |
Panhead engine is introduced for 1948, featuring hydraulic lifters and aluminum heads. Four speed transmissions get new shift pattern with first toward the rider (actually a 1947 change). New engine is offered in two sizes: 61 and 74 cubis inches. Panhead is well received, boosting sales to a record 32,000 units. Theft resistant steering-head lock added. 1949's Hydra-Glide brings modern telescopic forks to replace the previous leaking-link arrangement. |
The next few years brought only minor revisions, but 1952 saw the introduction of a hand-clutch/foot-shift option for the big twins. Like any change from tradition, this modern arrangement took a while to catch hold. But by mid-decade, most riders had made the switch, and though hand-shifts were offered by Harley through 1978, annual demand only rarely topped 200 units.
More big news came in 1953, though it affected the motorcycle market more than the motorcycles themselves: After nearly 50 years as Harley's arch-rival, the Indian Motorcycle Company finally closed it's doors. While the tendency would be to credit Indian's demise to superior products from Harley Davidson, that wouldn't be altogether accurate. Indian had been suffering since before the war, and though competition from Harley surely didn't help matters, neither did the postwar competition from overseas. and it wasn't helping Harley Davidson either.
After the war, both Indian and Harley Davidson offered smaller bikes that more closely rivaled their European challengers. Indian's efforts didn't do the company mush good, and Harley's had rather mixed results.
Though minor alterations were made over the next several years, a major advancement wouldn't come until the Panhead's final season. But a major advancement it was: After 60 years of having to pedal or kick thier Harley's into life, riders were finally afforded the luxury of electric starting with the 1965 Electra Glide. Though that name would live on for years to come, the Panhead would not. It was time for a change; one that some enthusiasts felt was not necessarily for the better..